London-listed diversified miner Red Rock Resources says drilling at the Luanshimba copper/cobalt project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is proceeding satisfactorily after experiencing a slow start.
The company has replaced an initial rig with a more powerful model and expects to extend some holes to a 120 m to 200 m depth, to test for copper sulphide mineralisation.
The 2 000 m Phase 1 drilling programme was initially planned to only extend down to between 60 m and 100 m, but later holes may now be extended.
Red Rock notes in a statement that pyrite encountered at the bottom of some holes indicates a possibility of sulphide mineralisation at depth, while the company has encountered cobalt/copper oxides, including heterogenite, in ten holes in zones starting at depths between 19 m and 70 m.
The company is preparing a first batch of samples for laboratory assay in South Africa, but chairperson Andrew Bell says black oxide ores within the dolomites appear to host some copper and significant cobalt mineralisation.
Red Rock owns 80% of the Luanshimba project.